SafetyNet 300

SafetyNet 300, November 6, 2014This
is a bit of a milestone – the 300th edition of SafetyNet! The VTHC OHS Unit thanks all our loyal subscribers and
encourages everyone to use the material for their own purposes, and encourage
others to subscribe as well.… and again, please consider 'following' us at: @OHSreps

Union
News

Young worker
killed in Northern Victoria A 28 year old man was killed after being crushed by a grain silo on a farm
in the state's north-west last week. Emergency services were called to a
property in Boinka, west of Ouyen, on the Mallee Highway about 4.30pm on October
30. Early reports suggested the man was loading grain into the silo in the
early afternoon when it toppled over. It is believed the incident happened
early in the afternoon but he was not discovered for some time. He died at the
scene. Police attended the scene to prepare a report for the coroner, and the
VWA was also investigating. Again, there has been no news from the regulator,
but apparently the death brings the number of workplace fatalities in Victoria this year to 16
– although by our reckoning the number is higher. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Ask RenataHello Renata,My employer has said
that the first aid kit would no longer stock plastic strips ('band aids') due
to health and safety reasons i.e. allergies. Surely this can't be right?

There
is no health and safety regulation which bans the provision of plastic strips,
in fact the Compliance Code for First Aid recommends that a first aid kit/box
should stock "individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings" (which is what
these are!). If the concern is about the small risk of allergic reaction to
some types of dressings then this can be easily managed by stocking the
hypoallergenic variety or simply asking the person being treated if they are
allergic to these before they are applied.
This is another example of 'health and safety' being used as a crazy excuse for not doing something.More information: FAQ on
First Aid Kits

Please
send any OHS related queries in to 'Ask
Renata' - your query will be responded
to as quickly as we can – usually within a couple of days.

Asbestos NewsAnother asbestos scandal unfoldingBecause we were
sold asbestos as a 'miracle fibre' it now looks like not a day goes by without
another asbestos scandal hitting the press. On the ABC's 7.30 broadcast earlier this week, unionists and lawyers warned about
the presence of deteriorating and friable asbestos-containing products in
hospitals throughout the country. Commenting on the situation, Tanya Segelov, a
prominent asbestos litigant lawyer, said: "Wherever there was heat, wherever
there was steam, there was asbestos." Contamination has been identified in two
major Sydney hospitals: Westmead and Royal North
Shore. There have been several cases of asbestos being discovered in Melbourne hospitals in the past as well.Read more: Hospitals
in Australia
riddled with asbestos and pose serious health risk, union officials say ABC
7.30

ACT Government bans builders from
removing asbestosThe ACT
Government has announced that builders will no longer be allowed to remove up
to 10-square-metres of bonded (non-friable) asbestos from homes. From January
1, any asbestos removal, including bonded asbestos sheeting, must be done by
licensed asbestos removalists, who will now come under the control of Work Safe ACT.
Builders were never allowed under the law to remove even 10-square-metres
without asbestos training, but Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said the
training requirement was the most widely flouted. "The 10-square-metre
rule is actually significantly misunderstood. Tradesmen think it means they can
remove up to 10-square-metres of asbestos without controls, that's not
true," he said. Some builders treated the 10-square-metre rule as a daily
limit, rather than a limit for the entire job, which is what the current regs say.

The new
laws will not stop electricians or other trades dealing with bonded asbestos
sheeting for "minor maintenance work", including installing down
lights, light switches or power points, but they will have to use a hand tool, not a
power drill to drill through bonded asbestos sheeting.Read more: The Sydney Morning Herald
ACT Government bans builders from removing asbestos

Mesothelioma Incidence in VietnamThe absence of data
on asbestos cancers is often used as proof that asbestos can be used safely
under controlled conditions. Vietnam
is a major consuming country which, despite the development of alternative
technologies, has not banned asbestos. Research reported at an asbestos cancer
conference in October 2014, has documented 148 cases of the asbestos cancer
mesothelioma in Vietnam.
The authors believe this figure is "likely to underestimate the true number of
incident cases…" The research was carried out under the auspices of the
Australian Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) and led by a researcher
from the University
of Sydney. Source: IBAS News Archive. Read more:
Soeburg, M et al: Estimating the incidence of malignant mesothelioma in Vietnam: a
pilot descriptive population-based cancer registry study.[pdf]

Study: Cosmetic talc products carry
asbestos peril. As already reported
in SafetyNet, talc, the fine, powdery
mineral used in thousands of consumer products by everyone from newborns to the
elderly, can be a killer if contaminated with asbestos. Some public health
experts say this occurs far more often than miners and manufacturers
acknowledge. In a new study, scientists from three different laboratories
worked for more than a year to track asbestos-contaminated talc from the mines
to a popular body-powder product, then into the lung tissue of a woman who died
of asbestos-caused mesothelioma after years of using the product. The number of
people contracting asbestos-related diseases is escalating, and many scientists
attribute at least part of that increase to asbestos' presence in thousands of
consumer products.Read more: Seattle
Post-Intelligencer Washington

ASEA Conference:
November 16 – 18, 2014ASEA's
1st International Conference on Asbestos Awareness and Management:
"Working towards an asbestos free Australia" (Crown Casino
November 16-18) is just around the corner, but it's not too late to register. Renata, the editor of the OHS Reps@Work website and SafetyNet will be there as a panellist
for Asbestos and "DIY" session. Asbestoswise will also be present at the ASEA
stand – happy to give information and advice. Read more: ASEA Conference including
program information, and registration details.

Asbestos Awareness Week:
November 24 - 28 Please
remember the annual Asbestos Awareness Week at the end of this month. There are a few events scheduled
during the week, but if you can't attend one of these, then do something your
workplace: a minute's silence for the thousands of Australian workers and
members of the community who have become victims of this toxic substance; doing
a 'spot check' of any possible asbestos in your workplace; checking that your
employer has an up to date register as required by the regulations; or a short
information and training session. Read
more: Asbestos Awareness Week 2014

Want to know about
Asbestos laws and more – go to the Asbestos
section on the site.

Construction
union scathing of penalty for worker deathThe fiancé of construction worker Tom Takurua
has condemned the fine handed down by the court to Thiess for her husband's
death six years ago as 'insulting'. Krystle Ross said the verdict handed down this
week in the Brisbane Magistrates Court – a fine of $120,000 after the company
pleaded guilty to causing her husband's death, was indicative of a failure in
the legal system. No conviction was recorded against the company. "Thiess have
been to court 13 times to try and save their corporate name, appealing time and
again in order to have the charges rewritten to lessen the severity of them,"
she said.

Mr Takurua was crushed to death when an 18 tonne
beam toppled over and fell on him, trapping him underneath. The accident was
caused by Thiess' disregarding its own work practices. Queensland CFMEU
Construction Secretary Michael Ravbar said that workers and the union were
upset and angry about the finding against the company. "When you consider that
the union gets fined more than that for trespass, it's not hard to conclude
that there is one set of laws for workers and another more lenient set of laws
for big business," he said. "This finding shows the public that if you're a
multinational company with deep pockets, you can work your way through the
system and literally get away with murder." Read more: CFMEU C & G News

International Union NewsEuropean Union: Unions and
psychosocial risks projectThe findings of a project on psychosocial risks done in 12 firms in four
Mediterranean countries (France,
Italy, Spain and Turkey)
were unveiled in Brussels
in mid-October. The scheme was coordinated by the Spanish trade union institute
Istas partnered by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European
Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Called E-Impro, it sought to identify specific barriers and drivers in
participative psychosocial risk (PSR) prevention processes at company level to
achieve a healthier work organization.

The project fell into two parts: a review of the scientific literature
from 2003 to 2013 - 124 English and Spanish documents in all - on participation
by workers' reps in PSR prevention and an interview-based survey of 62 people
from twelve private and public, industry and service undertakings.

Key barriers to worker participation in PSR prevention identified by the
researchers were:

no legislation (a particular problem in Turkey);

lack of knowledge among employers' and workers' representatives of the underlying mechanisms of PSR and the mistaken belief that the problem lies with the individual;

lack of management commitment, especially in companies with an authoritarian tradition of labour relations;

Global: Unions
kick off global transport 'safe rates' campaignA
worldwide campaign for safe pay rates for transport workers was launched in
late August by the sector's global union federation ITF. The 'Safe rates and a
safe industry- we're in, are you?' campaign is modelled on a highly successful
initiative by Australian truck drivers. In 2012, the Transport Workers Union
(TWU) won an Australia-wide safe rates law, intended to protect drivers from
pressure to work long hours, speed or take drugs just to keep going. TWU
national secretary Tony Sheldon, the newly elected road transport chair of the
ITF, said: "Transport work in Australia
is dangerous work. Transport workers are 15 times more likely to die at work
than workers in any other industry."Source:
ETUI news release Read more: Road
haulage in Australia: keeping vulnerable workers safe and sound, [pdf] HesaMag 06, 2012

Bangladesh:
Government likely to sue Tuba Group ownerIt was
reported this week that the Bangladeshi government was about to file a case
against the owner of Tuba Group, Delwar Hossain, for non-payment of wages and
service benefits to the workers of his five garment units and non-compliance
with the labour law. "We have no option but to file a case against the Tuba
Group owner as we repeatedly asked him to pay the workers' wages and service
benefits and to declare the factories shut following the Labour Act but he did
not respond," Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for
Factories and Establishments, told New
Age on Sunday.

On August 18, the Tuba Group management posted a
notice on the gates of the factories stating that the factories were closed
with effect from June 11, under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act. On August 26,
the Labour Ministry termed the closure 'illegal' and asked the owner to close
the factories complying with the relevant guidelines of the Labour Act. The Ministry also asked the owner to pay
compensation before closing down the factories – he declined until he received the
insurance money claimed for the Tazreen Fashions fire damage. The fire, in
November 2012, killed at least 117 workers – the owner had been in jail since
February this year as the police had pressed charges against him for homicide
resulting from culpable negligence. However, on August 5 he was released on bail to facilitate
payment of wages to the 1,500 workers of the five factories.Read more:
New Age

UK: Cuts are making civil servants sickCuts to jobs and increasing workloads are
leading to more stress and ill-health in the UK's civil (public) service,
according to new surveys for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). Two surveys carried out for the union by
employment analysts and academics have revealed high levels of stress, longer
working hours, and fewer opportunities to achieve a work-life balance. This
comes after the latest official stats showed 87,000 civil servants had lost
their jobs since 2010 as ministers boast of shrinking the civil service to the
smallest since the Second World War. PCS says the surveys show conditions for
civil servants have worsened since the union's first stress survey was carried
out in 2006, with stress now "considerably higher."

'Change' was identified as
the most significant contributory factor. More than half (52 per cent) of those
surveyed reported working beyond contracted hours and almost three quarters said
their workload had increased. The main reasons: reduced staffing levels (74 per
cent), new work practices (58 per cent) and increased personal targets (42 per
cent). More than one fifth (23 per cent) experienced work-related stress up to
50 per cent of the time, with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) saying they had
suffered from ill-health as a result of stress at work. PCS general secretary
Mark Serwotka said: "While ministers cheer the fact they're cutting the civil
service to the bone, their unnecessary cuts are clearly having a detrimental
effect on people's health and their ability to do their work. The government
has no claim to be a model employer when it is causing such high levels of
stress, ill-health and overwork."Read more:
PCS News Release

Research

Particulates from coal
mining community trigger signs of cancer in lung cells To expose and
extract coal seams buried deep under mountains, miners blast through rock with
explosives. In Appalachia (USA) where this mining is widespread, people who
live or work near mines have a greater incidence of lung cancer than the
general population. Scientists have in the past hypothesized that exposure to
dust from mountaintop removal mining can cause cancer, but until now, the link was
not experimentally demonstrated. But now,
a team of cancer researchers from West
Virginia University
has shown that human lung cells exposed to airborne dust from homes within a
mile of a mountaintop removal mining site adopt cancer-like properties and,
when implanted in mice, can promote tumours in mice.

The researchers collected air samples on mesh filters over
several weeks from two West Virginia
homes within a mile of an active mountaintop removal mining site. They also
collected samples from homes in a rural part of the state where there is no
mining activity. They extracted the particulates from the filters and then
analysed their composition using scanning electron microscopy with
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. They then exposed cultured human lung
cells to a nonlethal dose of the particulates from either a mining site or a
non-mining one for three months. By comparing the exposed surface area of the
lung cells to that of human lungs, they estimated that the dose as equivalent
to eight to nine years of human exposure to average air concentrations of
particulates in these areas.

Increased risk of lung
cancer among bricklayersAccording to the
findings of an epidemiological study recently published in the International Journal of Cancer, bricklayers
are at increased risk of developing lung cancer. The risk of contracting lung
cancer increases in proportion to the length of time spent working in the
occupation. The authors see the probable cause as being building workers'
regular exposure to a 'cocktail of carcinogens' that provokes synergistic
effects. Of particular concern is crystalline silica dust, found in most raw
building materials. Almost 20 per cent
of the workforce in the construction industry is regularly exposed to
crystalline silica dust.

The study was based on data gathered in 13 European
countries, Canada, Hong Kong
and New Zealand.
Currently, crystalline silica is not covered by the EU directive on
carcinogens. The revision of this directive to extend its scope to a larger
number of carcinogens has been progressing at a snail's pace since 2004. In Australia,
crystalline silica is classified as a hazardous substance, has an exposure
standard of 0.1 mg/m³, and in banned in abrasive blasting. However, it is not
categorised as a carcinogen. Consonni, D, et al: Lung cancer risk among
bricklayers in a pooled analysis of case-control studies, [pdf] International Journal of Cancer, June
2014. More information on Crystalline Silica

Shift work link to
brain power, memory declineA new study, published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, finds that those who
work shifts for 10 years or more may suffer loss of memory and brain power. The
researchers say the effects on brain function can be reversed, but this may
take at least five years. This study is the latest to highlight the dangers of
shift work, which disrupts the body's internal clock and has been linked to
health problems like ulcers, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

The team tested more than 3000 current or retired workers in
a various sectors in southern France
in 1996, 2001 and 2006 for long- and short-term memory, processing speed and
overall cognitive abilities. Comparing
the change in test results over time, and between those who worked shift work
and those who did not, the researchers found an association between shift work
and "chronic cognitive impairment".
The association was stronger for
exposure durations exceeding 10 years (dose effect; cognitive loss
equivalent to 6.5 years of age-related decline).Jean-Claude Marquié,
et al: Chronic effects of shift work on cognition: findings from the VISAT
longitudinal study. [Abstract] Occup
Environ Med doi:10.1136/oemed-2013-101993 Read more: The Australian Financial Review

New report: how European
workplaces are managing stress A quarter of
workers in Europe report feeling stressed at work all or most of the time,
while a similar proportion say that work affects their health negatively,
according to a report released on 16 October by the European Agency for Safety
and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Working and Living Conditions (Eurofound). The report examined the extent to
which workplaces take action to tackle psychosocial risks. Almost 80 per cent
of managers were concerned about work-related stress, and nearly one in five
considered violence and harassment to be of major concern. Despite these
concerns, less than a third of workplaces have procedures in place to deal with
such risks.

The report found that interventions taken at company level
to tackle psychosocial risks are most successful if accompanied by active
worker involvement. The report also singled out the impact of the crisis on PSR
(psychosocial risk) in the workplace. "Recently, increases in work pressure and
violence and harassment have been reported in some countries; this is
associated with workplace changes brought on by the economic crisis",
state the authors of the report.Read more: EU-OSHA/Eurofound:
Psychosocial risks in Europe: Prevalence and
strategies for prevention - Executive summary (16 October 2014) [pdf]

Regulator News

Safe Work AustraliaAustralia-wide fatalitiesAs of November
5, 144 fatalities had been reported to Safe Work Australia – four more since
the last report. The fatalities: 39 in Transport, postal and warehousing; 31 in
Agriculture, forestry and fishing; 22 in Construction; 14 in Mining; 11 in
Manufacturing; eight in Arts & recreation services; five in Accommodation
& food services; four in Wholesale Trade; three in Electricity, Gas &
Water Services; two each in Health care/social assistance and Public
administration and services; and one each in Administrative and support
services; Government administration & defence; and 'other services'.Read more: Safe Work Australia
Work-related fatalities

The latest
monthly fatality report released by SafeWork Australia remains that for July. Monthly
reports can be downloaded from the Safe Work Australia Monthly Fatalities Reports page.

SWA report: Workplace
health and safety, business productivity and sustainabilityLeadership
and culture is one of the key "Action Areas" of the Australian Work Health and
Safety Strategy 2012-2022, with strong evidence that performance is improved
when organisations address work health and safety risks along with other
important business risks. In 2014, Safe Work Australia commissioned the Centre
for Workplace Leadership at Melbourne
University to provide a
summary of this evidence. The report,
released last week, suggests the evidence supports the general business case
for investment in work health and safety – that those investments provide a
positive return through reduced costs associated with poor work health and
safety outcomes, improved productivity, and possibly other outcomes that add
value to the business. However, businesses need to take a broad strategic and
long-term view when considering the business case.

The
report also found that workers put under unreasonable production pressures and
dismissal threats are more likely to disregard safety rules and take risks - even
when well aware of the risks, workplace pressures might still "induce
behaviours that expose them to such risks".Download the report from
the SWA website.

FWC Bullying
jurisdiction results Although
the Fair Work Commission (FWC) received far fewer applications than expected
under its new anti-bullying jurisdiction, it received more than 100,000 unique
website hits on bullying, and 350 telephone enquiries, and the application rate
is gradually increasing, according to its annual report. Since 1 January this year, workers in
constitutionally-covered businesses believing they have been bullied at work,
and are at risk of ongoing bullying, have been able to apply to the FWC for an
order to stop the bullying.

The
FWC's 2013-14 annual report, released last week, revealed it had received an
average of about 60 applications per
month by the end of June; many fewer than the predicted average of nearly
70 applications per week.

FWC
general manager Bernadette O'Neill says in the report that as the new
anti-bullying jurisdiction is unique in both Australia and internationally, it
was "impossible" to accurately predict application numbers, but she
commented on the high number of enquiries relating to the jurisdiction since January – resulting in
approximately 350 applications.
According to the report. of the 197 anti-bullying matters finalised by
the end of 2013-14, 59 applications were withdrawn early in the process, 34
were withdrawn prior to proceedings, 63 were resolved during the course of
proceedings, 20 were withdrawn after a conference or hearing, and just 21
progressed to a decision. Source: OHSAlert Fair Work Commission
Annual Report 2013 – 2014: Delivering Public Value [pdf]

Useful materials

From Health Care Without Harm Europe: a leaflet for health professionals on endocrine disrupting chemicals in the healthcare sector is now available in English, French, German, Italian, Hungarian and Spanish online

OHS Prosecutions

Victorian
Prosecutions

1 –
Again: Failure to notify VWA – no fineOn 9 October 2013, an employee of VCON Pty Ltd had the top half of his
thumb tips amputated. The company did not notify VWA of this incident as it was
required to do, under section 37(d)(i) of the OHS Act; and the VWA did not
receive notification of this incident immediately. The company has also failed
to preserve the incident site (contravening section 39). On 29 October 2014,
VCON pleaded guilty to three charges under the Act, but was without conviction
placed on an adjourned undertaking for a period of 12 months with a special
condition to pay $5,000 to the Lions Club. It was also ordered to pay costs in
the sum of $2,765. (Melbourne
Magistrates Court)

2 - Enforceable undertaking for forklift incident - but no detailsOn November 3, the VWA published that on 12 September 2014,
BPW Transpec Pty Ltd entered into an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the
Victorian WorkCover Authority in relation to a forklift incident which occurred
at BPW's Laverton North workplace on 14 October 2013. However, there is no record of the EU on the
VWA website, so SafetyNet is unable
to provide any information.Source:
The VWA Prosecution result summaries

WA:Landscaper fined over man's death
A Perth landscaper and his company, Total Landscape Redevelopment Service Pty
Ltd (TLRS) have been fined a total $95,000 after a pedestrian was killed on a
worksite. TLRS pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of a person who
was not an employee and was fined $75,000 (plus costs of $6000) by a Perth magistrate. TLRS's
sole director, Christopher Lachlan Cantelo, also pleaded guilty to a related
charge and was fined $20,000. TLRS was working on public land at Inaloo for the
City of Stirling
in November 25, 2011. Cantelo had sent his staff to lunch but continued
operating a bobcat in their absence. He struck and killed a man who had been
working at a property next to the site. At a separate hearing in August, City
of Stirling was
fined $20,000 for failing to require TLRS to assess the risks before starting
the job. Work Safe WA Commissioner Lex McCulloch said, "These charges
illustrate that safety is the responsibility of not only the organisation that
engages the contractor, but also the contractor performing the work and its
company directors."Source:
OHNews

International
News

Turkey: Executives face life in prison
following mine deathsTurkish
prosecutors are seeking life jail terms for eight mining executives,
following the deaths of 301 workers in May, in the country's worst-ever
industrial accident. They have also charged twenty-nine other employees of the
Soma Mining company with involuntary manslaughter. They could be sentenced to between
two and 15 years in prison if found guilty. Those facing life
imprisonment include the chief executive of Soma Mining, Can Gurkan, the son of
the company's owner. The workers were killed when an explosion at the
Soma mine, in the country's west, was followed by a major collapse. Investigative reports found serious safety violations at the mine,
including a shortage of carbon monoxide detectors, ceilings made of wood
instead of metal, and a lack of high-quality gas masks. Soma Mining
denied any responsibility.

The Soma
disaster reignited concerns over lax safety in Turkey,
which the ILO says has the highest rate of workplace fatalities in Europe. Last week, another mining disaster occurred: a
flood at a mine in the southern Karaman region was thought to have killed 18
miners. Their bodies have not yet been recovered. Turkish police have apparently detained 17
demonstrators from a labour union for protesting against workplace fatalities
outside the Labour Ministry in Ankara.Read
more: Eight mining executives face life in jail after
the deaths of 301 workers in Turkey's
worst-ever industrial disaster
ABC News Online

India: Bhopal after 30 years
This December will mark 30 years since the Bhopal gas tragedy occurred. The leakage of
the deadly methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)
factory in Bhopal
was one of the worst industrial disasters in the world – killing 3,000 people
then and tens of thousands since. But after all these years, has anything
changed in India
with regard to adoption of environmental safeguards before promoting industries
and related projects? And what is the fate of the victims of polluting
industries?

According to a January 2013 report by the Indian Institute of Toxicology
Research, Lucknow,
the soil and groundwater within 3.5 kilometres from the UCC factory site is still
contaminated with cancer- and birth defect-causing chemicals. "The
contamination of soil and groundwater actually predates the disaster," says
activist Satinath Sarangi, who has fought for the cause of gas leak survivors. "From
1969 to 1977, Union Carbide used to dump its toxic wastes at 21 spots, most of
them unlined pits, inside the 68-acre factory premises. Despite 17 agencies,
including government and non-governmental organisations, carrying out studies
over the past two decades, a comprehensive plan for remediation of the soil and
groundwater has not been prepared," he says.

When Bhopal
survivors learnt of the peaceful death on September 29, of Warren Anderson,
they gathered to spit on a photograph of the former UCC CEO, the first accused
in the case and a fugitive from justice. Organizations working for welfare of
survivors say he died unpunished due to protection by the US government
and deliberate negligence of Indian government in bringing him to justice.Read
more: 30 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy Hindu,
India Warren
Anderson died unpunished, survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy say India Times

Global:
ILO video 'Dancing together against child labour'An up-and-coming hip-hop dance group, The Zoo Thailand, has put their
talent to good use and joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) in its campaign to end child labour. Napatsara Ploysupaphol, a 13-year-old hip-hop
dancer, has seen child labour on the streets of the Thai capital, Bangkok, since she was
young. When she started dancing at the age of seven Napatsara would finish her
practice in the evening and often see children, smaller than herself, selling
flowers or cleaning car mirrors at traffic lights, working until the small
hours of the morning to earn a little money. She heard about a new
ILO campaign, "All Together Against Child Labour",
(a part of the global "Red Card to Child Labour" movement) which specifically
tries to engage with the young city-dwellers who also form the core of The Zoo
Thailand's fan base. Napatsara persuaded her fellow dancers to put their
talents to good use and get involved.Read more and check out the video: ILO Feature

Europe: Endocrine Disruptors to be phased out Endocrine disruptors have harmful effects on the body's endocrine
(hormone) system. Hormones act in very small amounts and at precise moments in
time to regulate the body's development, growth, reproduction, metabolism,
immunity and behaviour. Endocrine disruptors interfere with natural hormone
systems, and the health effects can be felt long after the exposure has
stopped. Exposure to endocrine disruptors in the womb can have life-long
effects and can even have consequences for the next generation.

Due to growing concern in the EU and worldwide about negative human
health and environmental impacts possibly caused by endocrine disruptors, the
EU has introduced specific legislative obligations aimed at phasing out
endocrine disruptors in water, industrial chemicals, plant protection products
and biocides. In REACH, endocrine disrupting chemicals are considered of
similar regulatory concern as substances of very high concern. The European
Commission is currently working on a proposal for science-based criteria for
endocrine disruptors, as required in the Plant
Protection Products Regulation and the Biocidal
Products Regulation. The public consultation on defining criteria for identifying
endocrine disruptors in the context of the implementation of the plant
protection products regulation and the biocidal products regulation is
currently open.Read
more: Europa 30
September 2014

Belgium gets nanomaterials registryBelgian legislation on placing on the market substances manufactured in
nanoparticle form was gazetted in Belgium's Moniteur Belge legal newspaper
on 24 September. The new law establishes a registry of nanomaterials which the
Belgian authorities are hoping will improve the traceability of
nanomaterial-containing products and scientific knowledge about their potential
toxicity.

The registry is set to be operational by 1 January 2016 which is when
substances have to be registered; mixtures will only have to be registered from
1 January 2017. After evaluation, the products will be registered later.

Last May, the European Commission set going a public consultation on
possible measures, including establishing a European inventory, to increase
transparency of the European market in nanomaterials. Belgium is the second EU country after France where
nanomaterials must be registered before they can be marketed. Discussions on an
inventory are also under way in Denmark.
The Commission also has yet to publish the revised definition of "nanomaterial"
to move forward the efforts it is making to establish an EU-wide nano registry.Source: ETUI news Read more on Nanotechnology